Born 1901,
Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
Died March 7, 1979.
Zenag, New Guinea

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the great island of New Guinea came under the political control of various European powers. The Dutch claimed the western half and ruled it as part of its vast East Indian empire. The British claimed the southeastern quarter, then turned it over to the Australians when they formed a self-governing dominion. German traders on the islands and mainland of the northeast eventually induced the German kaiser to take over that section. But the territory was quickly conquered by the Australians and British during the early days of World War I.

Following the war, the Australians extended their control over the coastal region of the eastern half up to the mountain spine that runs through the length of the island. By the 1930s, they had established that the...